Sole-press.



G. E. BRITTAIN.

SOLE PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.20.19|1.

1 ,270, 1 1 1 r2 Patented une 18, 1918.

. i Kl MN 1 5 3H GEORGE E. BRITTAIN, 0F HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS,

ormon.

ASSIGNOR TO IRVING I.

KEITH, 0F HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS.

SOLE-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1918.

Application filed April 20, 1917. Serial No. 163,407.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. BRITTAIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Haverhill, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Sole-Presses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve- -ments in presses especially adapted to be employed in pressing a stack of shoe soles, composed of freshly cemented layers of 1naterial, such as canvas and leather, or two layers of leather, so as to cause the cemented surfaces to adhere.

I One of the methods now generally eniployed involves the use of a telescopic clamp device, such as is shown in my prior Patent #1210040, which is primarily designed to retain the pressure which has been applied to a stack of soles by a large press. While this method is particularly desirable in a large factory where several workmen can use the same press, it is not as advantageous in smaller factories. These devices can only be conveniently. employed on stacks of soles .of considerable height, 73 a, it is not practicable to use them for a stack containing a comparatively few pairs of soles. Telescopic devices of this character, and for this class of work, have also been produced which embody meansfor forcing the sole-engaging members together, and which, therefore, avoid the necessity of using an independent press, but these devices have not been found to satisfy factory requirements, for various reasons; one of the chief of which is that they are not adapted to press the soles with a force suflicient to secure satisfactory adhesion. Also, because this work is all bench work and these devices are not adapted to be placed on a bench and have the press members brought into sufficiently close proximity to press a small stack of soles, when necessary, and because they do not enable this work to be performed with the desired facility, and are not of a construction adapted to withstand the ordinary wear and strain incident to use in shoe factories.

More specifically, the invention relates to certain improvements in the class of devices last referred to, and has for its object to provide a sole press of the character in which the preSs-member-forcing-mcans may be locked in any desired position with relation to the stationary member of the press,

so that a cam-lever may be effectively employed as such forcing means, to the best possible advantage, under all conditions. Also to provide a device which is adapted to be used on a bench, and with which the press members may be forced together when in close proximity, and to provide a device which is of simple and durable construction and adapted to give a long period of service.

I accomplish these objects by the means shown in the accompanying drawing, in which 2- Figure 1 is a plan view of a sole clamping device, made according to my invention.

. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. '1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawing, boards a and b are provided, between which a stack of soles may be clamped. A U- shaped, somewhat resilient, metal strap 0 is extended about the under side of the lower board a and then upwardly at each side thereof, providing a pair of upright standards c, the length of which corresponds to the height to which the stack of soles is usually built. Said standards are rectangular in cross section, having flat inner and outer sides, disposed in parallel planes, and parallel edges.

A metal plate a. is secured to the upper side of the upper board 6, at the middle thereof, and is provided with a pair of vertically slotted ears d at each end thereof. A rigid rod e is extended through the slots of said ears and a cylindrically headed lever f is eccentrically pivoted on said rod. The end portions of said rod e are rigidly connected to a pair of clips 9, said clips being arranged to slide on the inner faces of said standards and having outwardly projecting ears 9, which extend therefrom, at each edge of said standards, in sufficiently close proximity thereto to guide said clips in the vertical movements thereof on said standards. A pair of cam-levers, or dogs k, are mounted between each pair of ears 9, on pivots '17 located in said ears, each dog having a circular head cccentrically arrangedwith relation to its pivot, in position to engage the adjacent or outer side faces of the standa pair of presspended "cemented soles are then bly pressed together.

ards 0, respectively. a-The handles of said dogs are so arranged with relation to the eccentric heads thereof,,th at when said handles are suspended vertically, as in the dotted line positions of Fig. 2, said heads will either be held out of actual contact with the sides of the standards adjacent thereto, or will "not engage said standards with suflicient force to prevent easy adjustment of the clips on the standards. When, however, the handles are thrown upwardly to a nearly horizontal position, as in the full line position of Fig. 2, said headswill be forced into "engagement with the standards, causing the latter to spring inwardly against the clips, "so that the-standards are firmly grasped between the dogs and the sides of the clips 9, the force of such engagement belng increased as the handles are swung upwardly. The standards 0, which are of somewhat resilient inateriahas above stated, are pref 'erably set so that they normally spring outwardly to a slightly divergent position, as indicated in the dotted line position thereof in Fig. 2, so that, when the dogs 7:. are susvertic'ally, (as in the dotted line positions of Fig. 2,) and the board Z) is in raised position, the frictional engagement between the standards and said dogs will be sufficient to sustain the board 7), by the parts connected thereto in said position against the action of gravity.

. The mannerjof using the above described device is as follows The upper board is raised nearly to the highest point poss'ble and is held in this position either by the frictional engagement of the standards with the cam dogs h, by their resilience, as above described, or by swinging the dogs upwardly until they engage the standards with sufiicient force to accomplish the same result. The freshly piled in layers on the bottom board to the number desired, and then either the standards are sprung together sufficiently to cause them to be frictionally disengaged from the cam dogs h, or, if they have been forced into looking position, they will be thrown downwardly, so that the upper board may drop onto the top of the stack. be moved to the dotted line position of Fig. 3, if it has not already been moved thereto, so that the portion'of its head nearest its pivot will rest on the plate d. The upper board will then be pressed, by hand, or by its gravity, firmly against the top of the '{stack, and the dogs it will then be thrown upward ,until they grip the standards firmly. The cam lever f will then be thrown over to the' full line position of 3 forcing down the upper board f, an in effect, drawing the presser boards together, so that the soles therebetween will be forci- The stack of soles,

, over, so as The cam lever'f will then thus held pressed together may then be set aside and permitted to dry.

To describe the action ofthe parts more specifically when the lever f is thrown to force down the upper board Z), the reaction of said lever on its pivot shafte tends to force the clips 9 upwardly on the standards, and such upward movement raises the pivots of the cam dogs h with the result that as the eccentric heads of the dogs have-already been forced-into close frictional engagement with the-standards, they will tend-to'roll up onithestandards, as their pivots are lifted, with the result that the higher portions of the eccentric head will be carried into 'enga'gement with the standards and the frictional engagement between the clips and dogson the one hand and the standards on the other will be increased practically in proportion to the upward force on the clips by the clamping lever, so that these parts will be locked together and the reaction of the lever will be applied to the bottom board a. i

' In case the stack of soles should yield under pressure to such an extent that it should "be desirable to increase-the pressure thereon, the pressing lever will be thrown back to the original position, and the handles of the dogs 71. will be swung down so that the clips and pivot-'rod '0 may be-lowered, to an 6Xt81'1i3,'011 the standards. The dogs will then be relocked and the lever will be'swung back, causing the soles to be compressed additionally to the extent to which the pivotrod was lowered.

The pressure on the stack of soles may thus be increased to the desired extent, as a very strong leverage, acting to'compress the soles, may be secured, particularly if a removable extension, such asan iron pipe,

is applied to the lever arm f, which may be convenientlydone. If, also, it is found that the stack of soles istoo unyielding to permit the clamping lever to be thrown completely Over by the available force applied thereto, the handles of the dogs it may be pressed down to I a slight extent, causing their grip on the standards to be partly released, thereby permitting the clips and the pivot of the clamping lever to yield to the necessary extent to permit the lever to be moved to its extreme position. The amount of pressure to be applied may thus be readily and accurately regulated, or de-'' termined.

It frequently happens that the soles "are of uneven thickness, so that the top of the stack tilts sidewise, causinga' corresponding tilting of the-top board, but with-the above described construction, no difficulty on this account is encountered, as one clip may be clamped to its standard at a. substantially lower point than another, and as either clip may be locked atany point on its standard, 130 I the upper board may be locked in any position in which it is tipped sidewise, so that practically the same degree of pressure will be applied at one side edge as at the other.

From the foregoing it will appear that the combination of the cam lever, for forcing the movable member of the clamp, with the friction devices, or cam dogs, for locking said lever in any position with relation to the stationary member, is of particular advantage, in that the full benefit of the forcing action of the cam lever may be secured, in spite of the fact that it always forces the movable member a certain distance. A cam lever, such as shown, is far more convenient and advantageous for this purpose than another form of forcing means of which I am aware, as it may be operated more convenientl and quickly, is less cumbersome to hanc 1e and less expensive to manufacture, and with it as much power may be applied as the strength of the other parts will permit. A further advantage is secured over the use of the clamp device of my said prior patent, in connection with a large press in that with the latter arrangement some of the pressure of the large press is lost before the cam dogs grip hard enough to retain the pressure, when said pressure is removed, While with the present device, the full strain is placed on the cam dogs, so that they swing to a position in which the clips are positively locked, by the time the cam lever is forced over to its extreme position.

When the upper board 7) is in raised position, to permit the soles to be stacked therein, and the lever f is thrown over to the dotted line position of Fig. 3, the weight of said lever on one end of the board will act to tilt it on its pivotal support 6 to an inclined position, so that the soles cannot be easily inserted, unless means are provided to prevent this ditiiculty, and to this end a stop lug m is provided on the plate (Z in position to swing against the edge of one of the standards 0 when the board 6 tends to tilt from the weight of the lever. Means to prevent tilting in the opposite direction is unnecessary, as the lever is usually not thrown over to the operative position, except when a stack of soles are in the press.

It will be noted that the upper prcsser board may be lowered into as close proximity to the lower board as desired, and that the dogs may then be'raised, so as to lock the clips to the standards, after which the pressure may be applied by lever f, and this may be done without having any portion of the movable member ofthe clamp extend below the level of the lower board.

The above described device is of durable construction and is practically unaffected by wear and is adaptedto give service for long period without repair.

I claim l. A sole-press comprising a base member having a pair of standards mounted at 0pposite sides thereof, a pressing member vertically movable between said standards, a pair of clips arranged to slide in said standards, respectively, a rigid connection between said clips, a lever pivoted on each clip having an eecentrically disposed face at one end arranged to be moved into engagement with the corresponding standard with increasing force as the opposite end of the lever is thrown upwardly, and a clamping device mounted on said rigid connection and arranged to force said pressing member downwardly.

A sole-press comprising a base member having a pair of standards at opposite sides thereof, a pressing member vertically movable between said standards, a pair of clips mounted to slide on the inner sides of said standards and having laterally projecting guiding ears to hold the same against transverse movement thereon, frictional lockin devices connected to said ears and arrange to engage the outer sides of said standards, respectively, to hold said clips against upward movement thereon, and a clamping device mounted on said clips and arranged to force said pressing member toward said base member.

3. A sole-press comprising a base member, a pressing member arranged thereover, a pair of standards of resilient material mounted on said base member at opposite sides of said pressing member and set to extend slightly divergently from said base member, each standard having inner and outer side faces, a pair of guiding clips mounted to slide on said inner faces and having connecting means to hold them against separation, a dog pivoted on each pair of clips and having an eccentrically disposed face at one end arranged to be frictionally engaged by the outer face of the corresponding standard, when said clips are in positions adjacent the upper ends of said standards and the opposite end of the dog is lowered, to sustain said clips in raised position, and to be moved into locking engagement with the standards when said opposite end is raised, and clamping means on said clip-connecting means for forcing said pressing member downwardly.

In testimony whereof, I have signed mv name to this specification. i

GEORGE E. BRITTAIN. Witness: I

L. H. HARRIMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

